Circular-knitting machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. E. LIPPITT. CIRCULAR KNITTING MAGHINE.

Patented Nov. 26, 1889.

Il III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIH" .MII I II-IIIIII IIIIIII I (No Model.) 3sheets-sheen 3.

1-1. LIPPITT'. y CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

110.415,91?. Patented NOV. 26, 1889.

Fis

Lf JC 7//0 ,L /Z/oJl/C Ulm RL mlm, l

i Sumava-fo@ I i @371g floznm @y NA PETERS, PhuwLilhogmpher, wnnhington.D. C

UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

ELIHU LIPP'ITT, or ZANEsvILLE, o uio.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHlNE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,917, dated November26, 1889.

l Application iiled dcteoeL 6, 1888. Serial No. 287,369. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELIHU LIPPITT, of Zanesville, in the county ofMuskingum and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain Improvements in Circular-Knitti ng Machines, of wh ich the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to those ma chines in which the widening andnarrowing of the fabric for the formation of toes and other portions ofstockings is automatically effected by means of supplemental rockingcams, which are acted upon and changed in position by the heels of theneedles, so that they act to throw the needles into or out of action oneat atime at the end of the successive courses. It has reference moreespecially to machines in which the rocking cams, being thrown to andfro, operate at their two ends alternately to throw the needles into orout of their operative positions, as represented, for example, in theapplication of Hansdoerfer and Lippitt, filed January 0, 1888, SerialNo. 200,010; and the invention consists in a new and simplifiedmechanism for automatically controlling said cams and determining thetimes at which they begin and end their operations, or, in other words,for determining the commencement, duration, and ending of the narrowingand widening operations.

Vith the exception of the cams and my improved mechanism for controllingthem, the machines may be in all respects of ordinary construction. Ihave therefore omitted from the drawings those customaryparts which areforeign to my invention and the presence of which is unnecessary to anunderstanding of my devices. v

The cams with which my present improvements are employed are practicallyidentical in construction and mode of operation with the correspondingcams lettered I and L in the Lippitt and IIansdoerfer application abovereferred, to which reference may be had for a more detailed descriptionthereof.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the bedplate or frame, the cam cylinder, threadguide, and adjacent parts of anordinary knitting-machine with my devices applied thereto. Fig. 2 isatop plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing thecam-ring forming an essential feature of the present improvements. Fig.4 is a cross-section of the same on the line .roc of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 isan outside elevation showing the lifting-cam and adjacent parts,portions being broken away.. Fig. 6 is an inside face view of thecam-cylinder, lifting-cani, and adjacent parts. Fig. 7 is a verticalcross-section through the cam-cylinder on the line y y of Fig. 2, thedepressingcam being shownv in its active and the liftingcam in itsinactive position. Figs. S and 9 are sectional elevations lookingagainst the inner surface of the cam-cylinder, showing thedepressing-cam in its different positions. Fig. l0 is an elevation ofthe depressing-cam and its adjuncts.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the bed-plate or base of themachine, ywhich will have the stationary needle-cylinder mountedthereon; D, a cylinder arranged to revolve around the needle-cylinder,commonly known as the cam-cylinder, and provided on its inner surfacewith the ordinary cams for raising and lowering the cylinder-needles toeffect the knitting operation, and also provided with supplementalwidening and narrowing cams to which my invention relates.

The foregoing parts, together with the thread-guides, the gearing forturning the cani-cylinder, and the various other necessary parts, may beconstructed and adapted to operate in the ordinary manner, and maybe inall respects identical with the corresponding parts in applicationSerial No. 260,016, above referred to.

. I represents a rocking cam, commonly designated a narrowing-cam, forautomatically lifting the needles one at a timeout of action, and L isarocking cam, known as the widening-cam, for automatically lowering theneedles one at a time to their operative positions. These cams I and Lcorrespond in form and mode of operation with the cams designated by thesame letters in the Hansdoerfer and Lippitt application, and thereforerequire but brief explanation herein.

The narrowing-cam I is formed at its two ends with shoulders 'i and fi',and carried on the upper end of an arm i2, forming practically a partthereof and pivoted at t3 to a vertically-movable slide i4, seated in aslot in IOO the cam-cylinder. Then this slide is down, the cam is inoperative position free to tip or rock from side to side, so as to throwone or the other of its ends below the path of the heels of theoperative needles. When the heel of an advancing needle encounterseither of the shoulders, it acts to tip the cam to the opposite side.The cam acts to lift the iirst needle and compel it to pass upwardbeyond an operative position; or, in other words, carries its heel abovethe line of the knitting cams. At the same time the cam in assuming itsnew position has its end carried above the ends of the followingneedles, which pass thereunder and operate in the same manner as ifactuated by an ordinary depressing-cam. Then the motion of the machineis reversed, the iirst needle encounters the opposite end of the cam,which is now in operative position, the effect being to lift this firstneedle out of action and tip the cam to its original position, so thatthe remaining needles pass thereunder in precisely the same manner as inthe Lippitt and lla-nsdoerfer machine. A spring t5, secured to thecam-cylinder, rides on the upper end of the cam-supporting arm f1?, asshown in Fig. 5, to hold the cam in its two operative positionsalternately. When the narrowing operation is completed, so that it is nolonger required to diminish the number of operative needles, the cam Iis rendered inoperative by lifting it bodily so that both ends Standabove the path of the needle-heels. For this purpose I employ anexternal cam-ring K, (shown detached in Fig. 3,) forming the essentialfeature of the present invention. This ring is arranged to revolvelooselyin suitable supports around the outside of the cam-cylinder, andis formed on its top with annular cam-surfaces, as shown in Figs. 5 and7, one of which rides beneath and against the ca1nsupporting arm Thiscam-surface consists of@ an elevated portion 7l; and a depressed portion7c', each extending about half-way around the ring. The cam-ring` iscaused by means hereinafter described, or other equivalent means, toyrevolve slowly around the canrcylinder. During one-half of itsrevolution, while' the depressed portion 7s bears beneath the arm i2,the cam I is permitted to remain down in its operative position, as inFigs. 5 and (5; but during the remainder of the revo lution of the ring,while its surface 7i; bears beneath the arm, the cam is held up in theposition indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 6 and full lines in Fig. 7,so that it is inoperative. The cam-cylinder and the base portion of theusual thread-guide screwed to its outside are provided immediately overthe arm i2 with converging surfaces i8, which act as the arm is liftedto bring it to an intermediate or vertical position, so that the cam Iwill assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. C, with its twoends on a level. The essence of the invention in this connectionconsists in the cam-ring arranged to raise and lower the narrowing-camI, and it is manifest erative position.

that to this end the ring may bear either directly against the arm 'i2or against its supporting-slide 4, or be arranged in any similar manner,provided it acts to raise and lower the cam I.

The widening-cam L, by which the needles are brought successively intothe field of operation, is carried, as shown in Figs. 7, 8, fl, and l0,on the lower end of a vibratile arm l, pivoted at l to the cam-cylinderor other suitable support. The cam is formed at its two ends withshoulders Z2 and Zg to override the heels of the needles. Then the camis in operative position, one end stands at a higher level than theother in such position that as the needles advance the foremost needlewill underride the raised end, and, acting' against the shoulder, willhave the effect of tipping the cam tothe opposite side, the first needlebeing depressed by and passing under the cam, while those which followafter override the cam and remain out of action. The cam being moved bythe needle,which is thus brought into action, has its opposite endraised in position to depress the foremost needle at. the opposite endof the series when the motion of the machine is reversed, the action inthis regard being the same as in the Lippitt and Hansdoerfer machine.This cam has no vertical motion, but is rendered active and inactive bymeans of two vertically movable wing cams or switches M and M', locatedon opposite sides of the cams, which serve to direct the heels of theoperative needles below or above the operative end of the cam L, asoccasion may require. The wing-cams are pivoted at their inner ends, asshown aty Zw, Figs. 8 and 9. hen their outer ends are depressed, theyunderride theheels of all the needles, so thatl all the needles continuetheir course upward over the widening-cam, unaffected thereby. Then boththe Wing-cams are elevated, they override the heels of the needles,bringing them down within reach of the operative end of the cam L, whichin the manner already described acts upon the first needle only toeffect its depression to an op- The action of these parts is essentiallythe same as in the original machine; but in place of the originaldevices for throwing the cams into action IA attach to the outer ends oftheir respective pivots. or journals arms l" and Z5., Fig. l, which rideupon an annular cam-surface Z Z7, formed upon the ring K. Springs l actto depress these arms and to hold the cams when free in their upperpositions. (Shown in Fig. 9.) The canrsurface has it-s portion l ofhigher level than the remaining portion Z7. When the portion Z7 ispassing beneath the arms, the cams M M are permitted to remain in theirelevated position; but when the portion lb underrides the arms they arelifted thereby and the cams M M held down so that the needles will passthereover. In thisway the action of the widening-cam on the needles isautomatically determined.

IOC

IIO

Manifestly the form of the arms 7;L For1 the equivalent connectionsbetween the ringcani-and the switch-cams may be modified in form andarrangement within the range ot` mechanical skill, the only requirementin this regard beingI that the ring-cam shall serve to raise and lowerthe switch-cams upward and downward at the proper times.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that the singlering-cam K serves to control both the widening and narrowing cams. Itscam-sufaces are so arranged in relation to each other and to the partsupon which they act that the widening and the narrowing cams are throwninto action alternately, the narrowing-cam carrying the needlessuccessively out of operation and the widening-cam thereafter returningthe same needles one -at a timel into action.

The ring-cam K may be turned by hand or by any appropriate mechanism 5but I recommend the simple arrangement represented in the drawings, inwhich it will be perceived that the ring is provided with a series ofratchetteeth 7.1,which are engaged by a retaining-pawl 7uT and by anactuating-pawl ks, carried by an arm 7e, pivoted at L13 to an ear7t'1,iif edto the cam-eyh' nder. the arm 7e is carried against. and pasta stationary dog or trip kl". In passing this trip the arm is turned onits pivot in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, and itspawl 7.18 caused to give a slight movement to the ring-cam K. A spring7cm, connecting the pawl les with its carrying-arm, servesl to rcturnthe arm toits normal position after it has passed the trip. The trip 7cmis mounted on the longitudinally-adjustable suppoit 75.12, slotted andconfined by screws L20 to a rigid support 7.113. Byadj usting thesupport 7612 endwise the trip may be caused to project a greater or lessdistance into the path of the arm 7s, so as to give the latter a greateror less movelnent upon its pivot, and thus impart a greater or lessmovement to the ringcam K. In this way the machine may be adjusted tocontinue the widening and narrowing operat-ions for a longer or shorterperiodthat is to say, through a greater or less numberof courses-asoccasion may require. The trip 7.110 is commonly pivoted as shown, andheld in its normal position against a stop-pin 7l:14 by a spring 7015.This arrangement is adopted to prevent breakage of the parts as thecam-cylinder is turned to and fro or revolved in a backward direction,the yielding of the trip permitting the arm 7c?) to pass backwardwithout meeting resistance.

Thearm which carries the widening-cam L enters a notch in the upper edgeof a horizontal slide n', carrying two cams N and N', in the same manneras in the original machine, and for the purposes therein described.These features have no relation to the present invention.

In order that any required number of cylinder-needles may be lifted atone operation As the cam-cylinder revolves in Fig. 7.

out of action or returned by a single operation to the knitting positionthe present machine is provided, like the original, with t-heneedle-depressing cam or linger I-I and with the lifting cam or finger Gmounted on the inside of the cam-cylinder, respectively above and belowthe ordinary path ot' the needles. The depressing-cam Il has its journal7LS extended through the cam-cylinder, as shown in dotted lines in Fig.2, and provided on the outside with an operating arm or handle 71.. Aspring 7L, secured to the outside of this handle, bears a pin 7a4,passing through the same to bear in or against the outside surface ofthe cylinder, whereby the arm may be locked in different positions tohold the cam up or down, as occasion may require.

The lifting-cam G has its journal Q20 extended in like manner andprovided with a corresponding arm gm, having an outside spring g2g,carrying a pin to bear in or against the outside of the cylinder. Italso has a similar locking device. This avoids the necessity of usingthe springs ot the Hansdoerfer and Lippitt machine to hold the cams Gand I-I in `their normal position.

To prevent the elevated needles from tipping' outward before the cam IIacts upon their heels, I hinge to the top of the cam-cylinder, as in theoriginal machine, a plate g6 to support the needles on the outsideimmediately above the cam H, and I hinge this plate so that it may beswung outward when the needle-cylinder is to be lifted from the machine.In place of the original device for locking this plate in position, Inew provide it with a pivoted horizontally-movable arm g3, which may beturned outward, as in Figs. l and 2, to bear on the rigid ear or platerising from and forming practically a part of the cylinder. Vhen turnedto the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, it releases theplate gli, so that it may be turned upward, as The thread-guide ,e isalso hinged to turn backward out of the way when the needle-cylinder isto be removed.

Having thus described myinvention, whatI claim isl. In aknitting-machin@ and in combination with the usual cam-cylinder, thenarrowing-cam I, adapted, as deseribed,to be rocked to and fro by theneedles, its vertically-movable support i", and the revoluble ring K,provided with cam-surfaces, whereby the raising and lowering ot thenarrowing-cam is effected.

2. In combination with the cylinder having the converging surfaces is,the vertically-movable slide z`4, the cam with its supporting-arm t2,pivoted to the slide, and the ring K, provided with cam-surfaces toraise and lower said arm, whereby the cam is automatically lifted outot' action and held in an intermediate position during the requiredperiods.-

3. In aknitt-ing-machine, the usual caln-cylinder, the widening-cam L,adapted, as Vdescribed, to be rocked to and fro by the needle-heels, incombination with the wing cams IIO or switches M M', their controllingarms and springs, and the ring-cam to adjust said switches mounted onand revoluble around the cam-cylinder.

Il. In combination with the cam-cylinder and the toothed cam-adj ustingring K thereon, the lever and pawl to turn the ring, the trip, andmeans, substantially as shown, for adjusting said trip endwise, wherebythe pawl may be given more or less throw at will.

5. In combination with the cam-cylinder and the automatic narrowing-cammovable vertically therein, the automatic wideningcam, the movablewing-cams at its sides, the' ring K, revoluble with and around thecylinder and provided with cam-surfaces shouldered, as described andshown, to cause the operation of the widening and narrowing camsalternately, and connecting devices, substantially as shown, between thering,` and the cams.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand, this 21st day ot June,1888, in the presence ot two attestiug witnesses.

ELIHU LIPPIT". Witnesses:

HILAND B. WRIGHT, WILL NoRToN.

